NEWS RELEASE:
NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY CHAIRMAN AND APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT BUZZ ALDRIN ISSUES STATEMENT ON DEATH OF ALAN SHEPARD

(Washington, DC) -- July 22 -- Dr. Buzz Aldrin, chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Space Society and for the ShareSpace Foundation, issued the following statement today on the death of Freedom 7 and Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard. Dr. Aldrin was the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11 and the second man to set foot on the Moon:

"Alan Shepard was the 'pioneers' pioneer,' the 'pilots' pilot' and the man who opened space for all Americans on May 5, 1961. Who can forget his golfing on the Moon or his wonderful, irrepressible smile? He dedicated himself to exploration and service to the nation. After walking on the Moon, shortly after Neil Armstrong and me, he dedicated himself to others in tangible ways, including the National Space Society and the former Mercury 7 Foundation, and especially to children through the Marshall Space Flight Center's Space Camp for Kids.

I cannot convey to you how much he was admired by those of us who watched and then followed him through that magic door into space, and I can only say that he will be dearly missed."

The ShareSpace Foundation is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating commercial space activities and to creating a highly participatory "citizens" space program.